Operations for the MENA region’s first geothermal cooling plant located in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City has officially commenced, according to a press release by project co-developer Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). The G2COOL plant will produce chilled water needed by UAE’s National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) for its district cooling activities. The project will be funded under Adnoc’s USD 15 bn allocation towards developing low-carbon power solutions as part of its net zero by2045 goal.

The facility will contribute to reducing carbon emissions in the cooling of buildings in Masdar City, contributing to the diversification of the UAE’s energy sources in line with the UAE National Energy Strategy 2050. Cooling buildings constitutes approximately 70% of the UAE’s electricity usage. District cooling provides a more sustainable option, being roughly 50% more energy-efficient than conventional methods. This clean energy source covers 10% of the city’s cooling demands.

How it works: The plant uses two geothermal wells to extract naturally occurring hot water. The hot water goes into absorption cooling technology to produce the chilled water required for Tabreed’s district cooling in Masdar City.

REMEMBER- Adnoc and Masdar are teaming up on geothermal energy production: Back in March, Adnoc signed a five-year agreement with UAE renewables giant Masdar to explore potential investment and development in the geothermal power sector, with Adnoc serving as Masdar’s drilling technical expert. In February, Masdar acquired shares in the geothermal unit of Indonesia’s state-owned energy firm Pertamina, which plans to generate 600 MW of geothermal power by 2028.

IN OTHER ENERGY NEWS-

The world’s first commercial-scale waste-to-hydrogen plant will land in Sharjah: Bee’ah, Chinook Hydrogen, and Air Water Gas Solutions signed yesterday a joint development agreement (JDA) to develop a commercial-scale hydrogen-from-waste facility, reports WAM. The facility will capture and store CO2 from syngas, with an eye to achieve total landfill waste diversion in Sharjah and to decarbonize the transport and waste management sectors.

Who are the partners?

  • BEEAH is a sustainable pioneer known for increasing landfill waste diversion rates. The organization inaugurated the Sharjah Waste-to-Energy plant, which upped the Emirate’s landfill diversion from 76% to 90%, the highest in the Middle East.
  • Chinook Hydrogen is a UK-based manufacturer possessing patented RODECS pyrolysis technology, capable of processing various organic-based waste into super green hydrogen using active-hydropyrolysis.
  • Air Water Gas Solutions is a US-based Japanese conglomerate with advanced industrial gas technologies, including advanced hydrogen refinement technology.

Big dreams for net zero: The hydrogen-from-waste plant will start with an initial capacity of seven tonnes of hydrogen per day, with a goal to bump this volume to 20 tonnes per day in the future. The facility will aim to produce 1.4 mn tonnes of hydrogen annually by 2031, according to WAM.

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